Denver Broncos kicker Matt Prater (5) kicks the game-winning field goal in the Broncos' 51-48 win during the Denver Broncos vs. the Dallas Cowboys NFL football game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Sunday, October 6, 2013.

ARLINGTON — A mistake at the worst possible moment by a star-crossed quarterback will forever stain a remarkable offensive performance.

This is Tony Romo’s lot. The highest-scoring game in the Cowboys’ rich history did not end with a bang or soaring heroics, but with Romo’s only interception of the afternoon and an anti-climactic field goal by Matt Prater from 28 yards as time expired.

Denver’s 51-48 win at AT&T Stadium on Sunday was a wildly entertaining affair that left Jerry Jones declaring a moral victory. Those who work for the Cowboys’ owner were not so positive.

Tight end Jason Witten said there are no moral victories for a team that fell to 2-3 and is now 24-29 since the start of the 2010 season. Linebacker Sean Lee used the words “unacceptable” and “terrible” to describe the team’s defensive performance.

The result: What could have been a special victory for a Cowboys team desperate to forge a positive identity ended with yet another bitter defeat against what is arguably the best team in the NFL.

“Hell of a game,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said.

The 99 points tied for the fourth-most prolific game in league history. The teams combined for 1,039 yards, 58 first downs and one punt. The Broncos scored on six consecutive possessions at one point, and the Cowboys opened the second half with four consecutive touchdown drives to take a 48-41 lead.

Peyton Manning answered for Denver to tie the score with 2:39 remaining. The game was in Romo’s hands.

The Cowboys quarterback had thrown for a career-high 506 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions to outduel Manning. But on second-and-16, on the final play before the two-minute warning, he forced a pass to rookie Gavin Escobar that was intercepted by linebacker Danny Trevathan on the Cowboys’ 24-yard line.

Manning and Prater did what they had to do over the final 1:57 to pull out the victory.

“I didn’t put it exactly where I needed to,” Romo said of his interception. “It’s frustrating.”

Jones, the eternal optimist, didn’t share that frustration.

“I’m so encouraged,” Jones said. “I’m extremely encouraged over the way we competed, the way we were undaunted. I’m encouraged we played at the level we played in a lot of areas.

“This was a moral victory today for us.”

The Broncos have won 16 consecutive regular-season games. The Cowboys are the first team to lose by fewer than seven points in that stretch.

But that didn’t spark Jones’ enthusiasm as much as Romo’s performance. Yes, he understands the significance of that one interception. But the creativity Romo displayed while playing within the framework of the offensive game plan gives Jones hope that this team has found its offensive identity.

“I see the fundamentals of what our plan was when we were in the offseason,” Jones said. “A quarterback who can do it all, create, come out of there and use that skill. … If he plays like that, we’re going to have one heck of a year. We’ll beat most teams we play.

“Knowing we’ve got the games that we’ve got left in our division, we should feel positive about what we’ve got in the future.”

Witten was proud of Sunday’s effort but said, “There are no moral victories here.”

Lee wasn’t nearly as diplomatic. Manning became the third quarterback to throw for more than 400 yards against this defense in five games with his 414 yards and four touchdowns. Add the 93 yards that Knowshon Moreno added on the ground, and it was hard for Lee to find any encouragement.

“Absolutely not,” Lee said. “Defensively, it was a terrible performance. We have to find a way to get better. There is no way around it. The last two weeks, we have been terrible.

“The way we’re playing, we’re not helping our team at all. That’s the standard right now in the NFL. If we want to be a championship team, we’ve got to be able to stop a team like that.

“We’re not even close right now.”

The saving grace is that the Cowboys are in the NFC East. Even with this loss, the team is tied for the division lead with Philadelphia.

Washington and the Eagles are the next two opponents on the schedule.

“I would much rather have played them and won,” Jones said of Sunday’s game.

“But if I can’t win, I’ll take what I’ve got.”

Catch David Moore on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310) three days a week with The Musers (Mon-Wed-Fri) at 9:35 a.m., twice a week (Tues-Fri) with The Hardline at 4:15 p.m. and twice a week (Mon-Thurs) with BaD Radio at 2:35 p.m. during the regular season.

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